The Beach
by Nature9000
Summary: Al remembers the day he went to the beach with Edward and his mother, Tricia Elric. It is a memory that he will never forget, this is in dedication of my mother and my brother. So read it, review if you want, but don't you dare flame.


The Beach

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist; I'll say again, I don't own it.

A/N: This is a dedication to my mother, Sherry, and my brother, Joshua. They both passed on in 2001 as a result of a car accident.

Sherry S: July 6th 1959-June 29th 2001

Joshua S: January 9th-June 29th 2001

Please enjoy this; if any of the characters are OOC, I apologize. I'm writing this from one of my memories of them.

* * *

"Al! Where the hell are you, Al!" Ed exclaimed as he stepped off the porch of the house. "Al, get your lazy butt out here!"

"Now Edward, be nice," Tricia said with a smile as she stepped next to Ed.

"Ah, but Al's always off doing whatever it is he does!"

"Well he likes to explore the outdoors, just like you enjoy playing your games. Each of us has something we enjoy doing." Ed crossed his arms and huffed.

"Well every time he goes out, I wind up having to find him!"

"You're the older brother, it's only natural. Now, go find your brother and tell him that we're fixing to leave, I'm going to load the raft into the car."

"Fine…" Tricia smiled and walked back in the house as Ed left the porch. "Where could Al be?" Ed took a stick from the ground and walked into a wooded area. "Hey Al, are you in this area!" Ed jumped back as a bird flew from a tree branch and into the sky. "Damn…I don't see why he likes it out here!" Ed whacked the tree branches with the stick and continued his walk into the woods. Al was leaning on a small fence when Ed found him, he poked Al with the stick.

"Hey, don't do that, brother," Al said quickly.

"Come on Al, it's time to go."

"Where are we going?"Ed looked at Al with disbelief and shock.

"We're going to the beach, idiot. Mom's pulling out the raft we bought the other day, now let's go!"

"Okay! Hey, I'll race you!"

"Yeah, whatever…" Al ran off and Ed continued to walk on his own. Tricia stood next to the car and smiled when Al ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"Mom, big brother found me!"

"That's great, so are you ready to go to the beach?"

"Yes!"

"Do I _have_ to go with him?" Ed asked with a smirk.

"I'm not going on the raft and your brother can't ride alone," Tricia stated. "Even if he _is_ wearing a life jacket." Ed sighed as he got into the car with Tricia and Al. Al had a little toy he was playing with so Ed took it and looked at it.

"Hey!" Al exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing!"

"I'm looking at this thing."

"It's a _toy_, why so interested in it?"

"I'm interested in it because I am…"

"Okay, you get to look at it, but not for long!" Ed glanced at Al and smirked.

"I'll look at it as long as I want." Al stuck his tongue out at Ed and Tricia chuckled from the front seat.

"Now boys, no sense in fighting over a toy," Tricia stated.

"I wasn't fighting over a toy!" Ed said as he quickly shoved the toy into Al's lap. "I'd never fight with my brother."

"You fight all the time," Al said as he narrowed his eyes. Ed shoved Al quickly and stuck his tongue out.

"I'm not fighting with you right now!" Al pushed Ed and crossed his arms.

"You are too!"

"Boys, relax back there, I'll turn this car around," Tricia stated.

"Sorry mom!" Ed and Al said quickly. Tricia smiled as she parked the car at the beach. She got out of the car with the two boys and opened the trunk.

"Okay, let's get the raft out and unfold it."

"I'll help you!" Ed said quickly as he ran over too Tricia and smiled as he helped pull out the raft. Ed and Tricia began unfolding the raft and filling it with air when Al called for Ed. Ed looked over at Al, he was standing by the shore and waving his arm. "What do you want!"

"Come over here, brother!" Al said quickly.

"No!"

"Edward, go see what your brother wants," Tricia said as she smiled. "I can fill up the raft, thank you for your help my little man."

"Okay…Besides, who knows if Al will jump in the lake and drown?"

"All the more reason you should go see him." Tricia smiled again as she turned to the raft, Ed sighed and ran over to Al.

"What do you want, Al?" Ed asked. Al pointed to the water and smiled.

"Take a look, there's a bunch of fish swimming in that one spot." Ed knelt down and looked toward the water, Al quickly pushed him into the water.

"Ah!"

"Hah, I got you!" Ed quickly stood up and clenched his fist as Al ran off.

"Why you little, get back here!" Ed chased after Al while Tricia looked over and chuckled. "Get over here; I'm going to give you the biggest beating you'll ever remember!"

"Mom, Ed's being mean to me!"

"Edward, be nice to Alphonse," Tricia stated. Ed crossed his arms and kicked at the sand.

"Fine, but I'm not going to forget this!" Ed exclaimed. Al quickly tackled Ed to the ground. "Ah!" Ed lay with his face in the ground and groaned. "Al…"

"Yes brother?" Al asked with a chuckle.

"Could you get off of me, please?"

"Give me one good reason!"

"Do you want me to go rafting with you?"

"Yes."

"Then…Get off of me!"

"I still don't want to do that."

"Ugh…" Tricia walked over to the two brothers and let out a chuckle.

"Okay Al, get off your brother," Tricia said. "The raft is ready and I need you two to help push the raft in. Also, I need to put this life jacket on you, Al."

"Okay, Mom!" Al said as he stood up and smiled.

"I'll go get the raft," Ed said quickly as he ran over to where the raft was. Tricia knelt down and put the jacket on Al, she clipped the connectors together and rubbed Al's head.

"There you go my handsome little man." Ed had the raft in the shallow part of the water and looked over.

"Hey, Al, come on!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" Al said quickly. Tricia hugged Al and kissed him on the forehead.

"Now, listen to what your brother says and try not to argue with him, can you do that for me?" Tricia asked.

"Yes, I'll be nice to my brother. Besides, people aren't that nice to him these days."

"I heard that!" Ed exclaimed. "Get your butt over here before I get out of this raft and drag you over here!"

"Edward, that goes for you too," Tricia stated. Ed crossed his arms and huffed.

"Don't worry, mom, I'm not going to do anything to him. Unless of course, you count pushing him into the lake as doing anything at all."

"No, you can't push your brother into the lake."

"Okay, I won't do that." Al ran over to the raft and got into it. "Finally, it took you long enough. Here, you just sit and I'll row with the oars."

"Okay." Tricia smiled and watched as Ed rowed the raft out into the lake. She sat on a nearby bench as the boys rowed further out into the lake.

"We're pretty far out, this is cool," Al stated with a smile.

"Yeah, it is," Ed responded. He stuck his hand in the water and smirked. "Hey Al, there's a fish swimming along with the raft."

"Really, there is?" Al looked into the water and Ed quickly splashed Al in the face. "Hey!"

"I said I was going to get you back for that." Ed chuckled and crossed his arms.

"You just made a big mistake." Al smirked and Ed raised his eyebrow. He watched as Al stuck his hands in the water.

"Wait, what are you doing? No, you better not be doing what I think you're about-" Al brought his hands out and splashed Ed with water. Ed chuckled and splashed Al with some more water. Soon both were laughing and splashing each other with water. Tricia saw this from the shore and started to chuckle.

"Boys will be boys I suppose," Tricia said quietly. "I'm glad they're having fun."

"Hey brother, are you going to go play with Winry again after this?" Al asked as he leaned back in the raft.

"Nah, I spent all day with her yesterday, I want to play with you today," Ed responded. "What harm could there be in spending a day with my brother and not Winry?"

"I was just wondering, it's really fun to play with you."

"It's hard to believe you say that, I always send you out of my room whenever you walk in."

"What do you _do_ in your room, anyway?"

"That is none of your business."

"Are you sure? What is it that you do?"

"I'm not going to tell you anytime soon." Al crossed his arms and huffed as Ed chuckled.

"You're no fair, brother!"

"This is one time that I won't be revealing anything to you."

"I bet mommy would have you tell me."

"I'm sure she wouldn't." Ed smirked and grabbed the sides of the raft.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to shake things up a bit."

"What!" Al's eyes widened as Ed began to shake the raft.

"Brother, don't do that!"

"Ah, there can't be anything wrong with doing such a thing. I'm not scaring you, am I Al?"

"Why would I be afraid?"

"I don't know, it just seemed like it."

"If you're not afraid of something, then I'm not going to be afraid of it!"

"You know, you don't _have_ to look up to me."

"Why not, I love you, you're my brother!"

"Yeah, I love you to bro."

"What do you think happened to dad?"

"He died, you know that…"

"Yeah, I wish he didn't die. I hope you never die, brother." Ed raised his eyebrow and chuckled.

"I don't intend on dying anytime soon. Don't be so dark." Ed brought the raft back to the shore and Al quickly jumped out and ran to Tricia and gave her a hug.

"Did you boys have fun?" Tricia asked.

"Yes, mom, it was great fun!" Al said quickly.

"I'm glad, and you two didn't argue with each other, did you?"

"No, brother behaved and listened to every word I said." Al felt Ed flick him on the back of the head.

"Excuse me, but who's the older brother here? I'll give you that one but you better not say something like that again," Ed stated as he looked over to Tricia. "Yeah, mom, we had a lot of fun. Al didn't start any fights and neither did I."

"That's good. Help me put up the raft so we can go home and I'll make you some supper."

"Okay!"

--5 years later—

Al stepped onto the beach with Pinako, Roy and Riza, Pinako took care of him but couldn't anymore so she was letting Roy and Riza adopt him into their family. Al was now thirteen, a month after his experience at the beach, Ed and Tricia had a car accident and did not come out alive. "He still struggles with it, doesn't he?" Roy asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid it hit him hard," Pinako said quietly. "He woke up one day and they were gone. He loves this beach, but he can't stay here all the time like he does, it's just unhealthy for him. Thank you for coming to adopt him, I'm sorry if I've inconvenienced you."

"No, Pinako, you did not inconvenience us."

"He needs a family, a father and a mother. I cannot take care of him any longer, I'm afraid I will pass on from a disease."

"It's going to be hard for him, isn't it?" Riza asked.

"Yes." Pinako looked over at Al, he was standing at the shore and letting the breeze blow through his hair. "Of course, he will be able to accept it I am sure."

"What about Winry?"

"You're here to adopt her too."

"Right, but will she be able to cope with the loss?"

"She and Al both have seen the loss of their parents and someone extremely close to them. It has hardened them to the point that I believe my departure will not be too troublesome for them. Tricia and Hoenheim Elric were like an aunt and uncle to Winry and Ed just like a cousin, so yes, it hit her hard. Al I believe was hit pretty hard since he was related by blood." Al walked over to Pinako, Roy and Ed with a smile on his face, "Al, how are you?"

"I'm good, I was remembering when Mom and Brother came out to the beach and I rode on the raft with Edward. We had a lot of fun that day." Pinako nodded and saw a tear fall from Al's face. "I know it's been five years, I still think about them every now and then but it gets easier to think about as time goes on."

"Time is the best medicine," Roy said quietly. "However, you will never fully get over it; remember that we will always be here with you."

"Right, can I ask you a question though?"

"Yes."

"I know Granny Pinako is going to pass on…You and Riza aren't going to die, are you?" Roy and Riza looked at each other and looked back at Al.

"We will always be here for you," Riza said as she knelt down and hugged Al. "We won't leave you."

"Right, remember that your mom and your brother are always with you as well," Roy stated. He pointed his finger to Al's chest and smiled. "They're right there with you and they're also watching over you, so they're definitely with you right now."

"Thank you." The group left the lake and behind them stood the spirits of Tricia and Ed, they waved as Al got into the car with Roy, Riza and Pinako.  
"I think they're waving at you," Roy said as he looked out the car. Al looked over and smiled.

"Goodbye mom, goodbye brother, I shall never forget you and will always hold you deep in my heart." Roy started up the car and drove from the beach.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it, and this isn't exact to my memory but it's close. My dad and grandma are still alive and I have a older step sister. My dad also remarried so if you're wondering, you _could_ put Pinako, Roy and Riza symbolic of my Grandma, dad and stepmom. 


End file.
